10,000 steps a day

With a target of 10,000 steps a day, several of us at HP Towers have pedometers and are regularly checking up on each other’s achievements (healthy competition is always a good thing!).

We’re interested to note recent media claims that the average Brit fails to get anywhere near the recommended daily steps. A study that looked at anonymised data from 700,000 people on a mobile phone activity app found that people in the UK average just over 5,000 daily steps. This is in stark contrast to the recommended levels set by the NHS of 10,000 per day. A separate report also revealed that office workers are less active than OAPs! The Scottish study looked at the activity levels of males in the workplace and it revealed that those at work in office jobs were less active than those over 75, although they made up for activity levels at weekends.

So why is this?

Many of us have super complicated and busy lives, working long hours in sedentary jobs and taking the car everywhere. We often blame a lack of time as the cause of lack of physical activity, so why not make some small changes whilst at work to elevate activity levels and smash that 10,000 step goal?

With the rise in heart disease, stroke and type-2 diabetes, in part due to the rising levels of inactivity as a nation, which in turn impacts on the workplace with more sick days, it makes sense to tackle inactivity during our working day.

Therefore, for workers primarily in sedentary jobs, now is the time for commitment in getting moving:

get off the bus early and walk the rest of the way home or to work

use the stairs instead of the lift

drive to work? Why not park as far away as you can and walk the rest.

opt to use a toilet on another floor

set up a team lunch break walk (this also helps to clear your mind)

encourage staff to set up an app on their smartphones and use this to monitor activity levels – have a competition!

Remember, a healthy workforce is a productive workforce.

If you’d like support in identifying and improving activity levels in your organisation Contact us via our website or call us on 0800 170 1777.